This has got to be my favorite issue of this story so far. We finally get to see what "broke" Wolverine on the night that the villains won.
I'm definitely not going to spoil it, but this is a key issue in this arc. Mark Millar took his sweet time to lay out the landscape and keep the mystery surrounding Logan's pacifism pretty intriguing throughout the whole arc. Last issue was definitely the calm before the storm since I was miffed that it was such a "filler" issue. This latest issue delivered in spades on what everybody's been waiting for.
It's still a mystery as to what will happen from here. Logan still has a job to do with Hawkeye and he will probably have some serious decisions to make as they get closer to their destination. Millar has been great at voicing Logan and his inner-torment and it's all beautifully visualized by Steve McNiven.
Steve's art is top notch work. The violence in this issue was over the top. Not many artists get the chance to draw Wolverine in a berserker rage against so many familiar faces and all in one sitting while also having the opportunity to illustrate them being hacked into tiny little pieces. The blood flows a plenty in Logan's flashback. The outcome was truly devastating, especially for our titular character. Awesome stuff!!
When you've grown up with a certain character, like Wolverine, you get a sense of frustration after a while because the character is actually constrained by continuity. The poor boy can never let loose without ruining tons of continuity. So as a reader and a fan, these kinds of stories that we are presented with here are a godsend. There are no rules. Writers can write a compelling story that is very true to the main character's core. There's also opportunity to make great use of second and third string characters.
I can't wait to see what the final act has in store for us.
I give this issue a 4.5 out of 5. My only gripe has to do with the scene with Bullseye.. you'll know what I'm talking about when you read it.